Profiles

Russell Slade arrived in South Somerset in 2006 after spells managing Grimsby and Scarborough.

"You think you know it all at 33, 34, but perhaps you don't. Notts County were then in the Championship, and I took over at that particular stage of my career," Slade recounted.

When his managerial reign began at Meadow Lane, County were in the bottom four of the division, and they remained there until being relegated at the end of the season.

The one bright spot was taking the Magpies to Wembley for the Anglo-Italian Cup Final where they beat Ascoli 2-1- but that wasn't enough to secure Slade's future at the club where he'd worked for 11 years.

"You have to recap after something happens like that when you lose your job," reflected the 47 year-old. "From there I went away and took stock of everything and decided if you're going to do it, then do it properly."

Having deciding what he wanted to do, he then went away and learnt more about it.

'An enormous reward'

The Glovers gaffer is quite a rare breed, having had a career outside football before becoming involved in the professional game.

He started out as a P.E. teacher in Nottingham but started playing in the reserves at Notts County just six months later. From there it was a gradual move into coaching which eventually became a full time job.

Neil Warnock was a managerial influence

Perhaps because of his educational background, Slade has enjoyed working with young players at a variety of clubs including Sheffield United.

"It's an enormous reward for a Youth Team Coach to see his player come through and make his debut in the first team. I think that's fantastic and I've been there and that's great," said the Yeovil manager. 

But he was also quick to pay tribute to the men he learned his all-round managerial trade from, like Howard Kendall, Neil Warnock and Jimmy Sirrel.

"I think from that point of view I've had a good upbringing. The one for player management and for talking to players was Howard Kendall, without a doubt.

"He was terrific- had something about him. He had that X-Factor and you would listen to Howard - and when he coached you took it on board as well."

The future

There are those that say Slade also has that X-Factor. But as well as stamping his authority on the football side of the club, the Yeovil manager has become known for his love of a certain brand of chewy sweets in his time at Huish Park.

"Percy pigs, yeah - they're just a favourite little pastime of mine on those long journeys," he admitted. "They keep me quiet and some of the staff quiet. They're quite popular around the building now."

Yeovil reached the 2007 League One play-off final

The success achieved by Russell Slade at Yeovil has meant that clubs like Carlisle and Millwall have wanted to tempt him away. So is he likely to stay in South Somerset for long?

"I've just moved into a new home and every day a lorry comes down my drive delivering some extra furniture or bedding or something from some shop around," Slade told BBC Somerset.

"So yeah, I think my wife is telling me that we could be here for a while."